Special UsesĬarbon Farming Coppice Food Forest Nitrogen Fixer After the textile has been dipped into solution it turns blue when exposed to the air. The alkalinity is maintained by adding lime. In traditional preparations of the dye, various reducing agents such as molasses are used, together with coconut-milk, bananas and the leaves of Psidium guajava. To dye textiles, indigo is reduced to a soluble form by a fermentation process under alkaline conditions. The water is drained and after the indigo has dried, it is cut into cubes or made into balls. Afterwards the solution is left to rest and the insoluble indigo settles to the bottom as a bluish sludge. After some hours of fermentation, during which enzymic hydrolysis leads to the formation of indoxyl, the liquid is drained off and then stirred continuously for several hours to stimulate oxidation of the indoxyl. The harvested leafy branches are placed in a tank containing water to which some lime has been added, and are weighted down with planks. The leaves and twigs do not actually contain indigo but colourless precursors that must be extracted and then processed in order to produce the indigo dye. Other Uses: A deep blue dye is obtained from the leaves. Another reason to grow Indigofera tinctoria as a green manure is because it is a good nitrogen catch crop, reducing the amount of fertilizer NO3 leaching to the groundwater. The residue remaining after indigo extraction is also applied to the land as manure. In traditional rainfed rice cropping systems in the Philippines, this plant is a popular green manure, increasing rice yield whilst also reducing by 50% the need to supply expensive nitrogen fertilizer. Indigofera tinctoria is useful as a green manure, it is used in India, for example, in coffee plantations and as a cover crop preceding rice, maize, cotton and sugarcane. A root infusion is used there as an antidote against snakebites and to treat insect and scorpion stings.ĭye Green manure Insecticide Soil conditioner TeethĪgroforestry Uses: The plant is sometimes grown as a cover crop and green manure. A watery root paste is applied topically in India to treat worm-infested wounds. A root preparation is applied to relieve toothache, syphilis, gonorrhoea and kidney stones. A tincture of the seed is used in India to kill lice. Applied externally, the leaves are made into an ointment for treating skin diseases, wounds, sores, ulcers and haemorrhoids. Always seek advice from a professional before using a plant medicinally.Īntiasthmatic Antihaemorrhoidal Epilepsy Febrifuge Kidney Mouthwash Skin StingsĪ leaf infusion (sometimes combined with honey or milk) is used to treat a range of disorders including epilepsy and nervous disorders asthma and bronchitis fever complaints of the stomach, liver, kidney and spleen and as a rabies prophylactic. Plants For A Future can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |